


What the University of What It Is Really Is

by kathrikat



Category: Kakos Industries (Podcast), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, F/F, Gen, M/M, The University of What It Is, Typical Kakos Industries Evilness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 09:50:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6465622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathrikat/pseuds/kathrikat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos came from the University of What It Is, but who exactly does that University belong to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	What the University of What It Is Really Is

     "Carlos?" Cecil asks over dinner one night, he's had this question itching at his tongue since the day it happened. He believes that it's been a long enough wait, but he'd wait longer if he had to. Cecil could respect Carlos' boundaries. To an extent. The only exception being, if what Carlos had done had hurt himself. Cecil couldn't stand the thought of someone he loved keeping that to himself, yet he could wait. He'd wait to the ends of the universe for Carlos if he had to. Cecil had been too scared to ask before, had been scared of the unknown, not the  _truth._

 

"What exactly  _is_ the University of What It Is?" 

 

Carlos stops chewing, looking up from his plate to Cecil. He had expected this conversation to arise at some point, although _now_ was really unexpected. Carlos had been taught to expect the unexpected at the university. He had been taught a lot of things, really. How to keep quiet, how to turn off emotions, how to laugh properly. All things that he was never good at following. He thinks about where to start in this story. He doesn't know where the proper beginning is. He  _could_ start with the founding of the university, or his own stay there. The hell he went through that he didn't even notice until it was too late. Well, maybe it  _wasn't_ hell, so much as he couldn't do it. That could be explained later. He sighed.

 

 _"It's a University that belongs to a much, much, bigger corporation. It was founded by the first generation of what is now three people with the same name." He didn't dare even think of the name."_ _It's been run by several people over the years, the most current being the one and only Grace Rule."_

 

He imagined saying that to Cecil and tried again.

 

 _"I went straight to the University of What It Is after high school, was there for several years. It takes a lot of studying to become what I was and still technically **am**_ _trying to fully become."_

 

Evil. Scientist. An evil scientist was what Carlos had been aiming for and he _had_ gotten it, for the most part. He had been teaching there for a while, not  _completely_ under _that branch_ of course, but he kept trying. He imagined what Cecil would say to him.  _"Of course, of course. I understand."_ He really _wouldn't_. Because Cecil doesn't know who the University belongs to. He doesn't know about  _Kakos Industries,_ a company Cecil and everyone in Night Vale should never know about, _ever_. Carlos had studied there in the name of Evil, to learn the ways and become a great scientist (like Dunkelwissen) under the name Kakos Industries. To work under  _Corin Deeth III._ To be known for great chaos had been his dream, had been his parents' greatest wish of him, but in the end he had been too good for them. Not too good in a  _he was better than them_ way, but in a  _he was too nice_ way. Countless times he had been found 'breaking the rules' because he did something too  _good_ or he didn't try to plot revenge when someone did something bad to him. Grace Rule, the person who ran the place, (technical principle) had tried to help him by placing him in Evil therapy, under Dr. Sylvia Kayali. Grace had told him that if he couldn't find the evil in himself, there was no way working under Corin could be an option.

 

 _Devastation._ Carlos had nothing if he could not be under Kakos Industries. He would be a failure in the eyes of his parents if not anything else, who had been in the Kakos Industries line for years. That one phrase echoed through his ears.  _Two wrongs make a right._ In Carlos' case, it was true. Two evil parents gave birth to an innocent child who saw the good in everyone and everything. Carlos had never been  _Evil,_ even if he had believed himself to be for so long. Carlos will never be  _Evil. S_ o when he received Night Vale as a field experiment he found his great escape, with possibly the most  _Evil_ thing he could do in his life. In Night Vale, there was no need to go back and become a failure, and he could conduct as many experiments as he wanted, and he could be  _happy_. _Happy with Cecil._

 

_Cecil Palmer._

 

Falling in love had never been apart of the plan, it just...happened. In fact, when he first arrived in Night Vale he had been so focused on science that he didn't even realize that Cecil _had_ been flirting with him. (So much for his gaydar.) Cecil had been a great escape. He been a great unexpected plan, and Carlos loved him for _real_. There was no lie _there_. If Carlos knew he was certain about one thing, it was most definitely _that_. No, falling in love hadn't been excepted (expect the unexpected, his brain had warned him to no avail) but he was grateful for it none the less.

 

_Love, the perfect unplanned plan._

_Love, something the University of What It Is could never have taught him._

 

Carlos thought about the people he had met back when he was there full time. There had been the annoyingly non couple Kara and Billy, who would've made the  _cutest_ had someone given them the proper shove. Although, Carlos had been wrong before. There had been the most darling lesbian couple, Kimmie and Maggie, who forced love and warmth into anyone that saw them. They were such a wonderful unit together. He knew that surely they would get married someday. He wondered how those two were doing these days. There had been the occasional times when the powerful Ms. Solomonari would slip into the school, her daughter Hailey trailing behind her and swaying her hips for everyone to drool at. Her mother was beautiful, no doubt that that's where Hailey got her looks from, but Ms. Solomanari was greatly feared. She could rip out both of your lungs in one swift movement if she wanted to. He thought of Grace Rule, who he had known quite personally and had been someone he looked up to very much. He doubted she even remembered his name now. Still, there was one person that stood out from the rest, and his name had been Steven.

 

The anxiety ridden wreck who Carlos had known quite well in high school. They applied to the University together and when he he heard that Steven was being turned down for being too nice, Carlos had found some strings to pull and got Steven's dream to work in sound and music engineering to come true. ( _This_ is where Carlos _should've_ seen the good in himself, but was too stubborn to believe it was there.) They stayed good friends throughout, Steven coming to Carlos signing frantically about his day. What he had seen, _who_ he had seen, what he had learned. Carlos had become a pretty big outlet for Steven and it was great while it lasted. Steven had someone to vent to, and Carlos could be of help. Could be of use.

 

He remembers the night Steven asked him to come over. Carlos didn't see it as a big deal. Just some Chinese to eat with a good friend, but when he had found Steven a panic attack ridden mess, he had held his friend through the entire thing, and in the end, had kissed him. He _immediately_ regretted the decision because he hadn't even _asked_. He just did it without thinking and they had been such good friends he didn't think that such a small projection of affection could mean anything more than  _"I care for you."_ but he was wrong. Things between them weren't the same. Carlos had found him and Steven in situations that exerted far too much intimacy than they should. For example, being in rooms alone together, accidentally brushing hands, telling each other things, (Like, _intimate_ things) had become so much _more_. Eventually, this lead to a beautifully blossomed relationship, the two of them in their studies and completely in love. And then it ended. It wasn't anything tragic or anything like that, but they both realized that staying friends had been the best option. And them, being the two obliviously good people they were, didn't even end up mad at each other. (In fact, for a while there, they had even become each others wing men.)

 

And then their decisions later in life  lead them both into different directions and Carlos found himself in Night Vale, wondering what would have happened if he had stayed with Steven. What would've happened if he hadn't taken the offer to Night Vale, but it didn't matter. He looked to Cecil and then to the ticking clock that rested behind him. It never actually worked properly, but Carlos liked the idea of linear, working time so it was definitely a comfort if not anything else. He couldn't remember how much time had passed since leaving the  _real_ world. Surely it had been long hadn't it?

 

Hadn't it?

 

Perhaps not.

 

 Either way, Cecil had asked him a question. It hung in the air like raw meat, unsettling and horrible to the palate. Carlos looked Cecil in the eyes, keeping himself composed despite all the love and fear- no, not fear,  _concern,_ that he saw in them. No, this was not the time, the truth would not come out now.

 

"All in good time, Ceec." 

He said.

"All in good time."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any typos or grammar mistakes. This was quite rushed.


End file.
